Be a Part of the Story…
Be a Part of the Delaney Project…

This winter, the world will come to Knoxville to experience the life and times of Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin. They will experience an ambitious exhibition at the Knoxville Museum of Art documenting Delaney and Baldwin’s lifelong friendship. They will hear the presentation of scholarly papers at the University of Tennessee International Symposium on the influence of Delaney and Baldwin on mid-twentieth century culture. Audiences will go to the Beck Cultural Exchange to attend the world premiere of a new opera, Shadowlight, about their relationship in Paris.

As visitors experience our city, they will see light-post banners throughout Downtown, East Knoxville, and the Arts District that will show the image of Beauford Delaney. Imagine a city in the South that has the courage and audacity to honor this cultural giant.

You can be a unique part of the celebration by buying a banner for $100. We urge you to join the effort and Buy-A-Banner…or two…or more!

There are two payment options. You can mail a check in to the Arts & Culture Alliance of Knoxville, PO Box 2506, Knoxville, TN 37901. Make sure to make it out to the Arts & Culture Alliance and put “Delaney” in the memo line.

You may also donate online below. If you’d like 100% of your donation to go to the banners, please consider adding $5 to the total to defray the cost of card processing.

The Delaney Project Goals

I.  Promote and celebrate the art of Beauford Delaney, African American artist born in Knoxville, TN;

II. Gather people to plan art, culture, and history activities that expand public awareness of Beauford Delaney;

III. Establish Knoxville as a center of Excellence for the study of Beauford Delaney’s art and colleagues of the day;

IV. Create new channels of dialogue about the art, culture, and history of his work on Knoxville.

The Delaney Project Council

Governance Circle:

Sylvia Peters, Chair
Retired Educator, Art Collector, Community Activist

David Butler– Executive Director, Knoxville Museum of Art
Beauvais Lyons– University of Tennessee Art Department
Avice Reid– Sr. Director of Community Relations, City of Knoxville
Alan Rutenberg– University of Tennessee Humanities Department
Patricia Rutenberg– University of Tennessee History Department, Senior Lecturer
Stephen Wicks– Curator, Knoxville Museum of Art

Council Members:

Emily Anderson– Librettist
Steve Cotham– East Tennessee History Center
Aram Demirjian– Music Director, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
Amy J. Elias– Director, UT Humanities Center
Kathryn Frady– Executive Director, Marble City Opera
Evelyn Gill– Knox County Commissioner
Renee Kesler– President, Beck Cultural Exchange
Twuanna Munroe Ward– Links Inc., Knoxville (TN) Chapter
Monique Wells– Founder, Wells International Foundation

*Permission to use images granted by Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esq., Court Appointed Administrator